Sanditon Melodies

Chapter 24: Awakenings

Charlotte's alarm woke her up the next day. Although she'd manged the 8-9 hours sleep she needed, she woke up feeling restless for Sidney would be knocking on her door in half an hour. The thought of spending the morning alone with him made her feel giddy with excitement, but at the same time fraught with nerves. Charlotte had not seen much of him yesterday, except for their brief encounters at the garden party, but each look, each smile that they had exchanged made her head spin. Seeing Sidney in person had confirmed to her that she had feelings for him and that these feelings were getting stronger with each interaction with him. The question was - did Sidney feel the same? Sometimes Charlotte thought he did by the way he looked at her, sometimes softly, affectionately even, and at other times with such a intensity that seemed to burn her retinas. He also appeared to want to spend time with her, like when he'd sought her out yesterday at the garden party or when he wanted to stay and chat when she had her late dinner on Friday night. Then there was this morning: he'd invited her to go surfing with him, even seemed slightly offended when she had forgot (and thinking back, how could she have done that?). Sidney had even admitted that he admired her... or at least one of her character traits. Perhaps she was reading too much into it though, for there was a nagging doubt in the back of her mind about it all: Was he really single? Because she couldn't quite believe that a guy as handsome as he was, and in the position he was in, was not attached. Charlotte wondered if there would be a way to subtly ask him today, because if things continued in the same vein and she found out he was with someone, she would end up getting hurt. The sooner she knew the better.

Sidney knocked on the door at the appointed time and Charlotte answered it merrily. They both made their way to the sheds to get into their wetsuits, each facing the other way as they did so.

"When did you get home last night?" Sidney asked nervously, pulling on his wetsuit.

"Oh early. Around eight o'clock. I was so shattered, I pretty much went straight to bed." This statement seemed to cheer Sidney slightly.

"Where did you go for dinner?" He wasn't really that interested, but he thought he should continue the conversation.

"The seafood place on Wickham Road."

"Very nice."

"It was a shame you didn't join us." Charlotte said. Babington had invited Sidney, but he had declined.

"I just figured you all had business matters to discuss." Sidney replied, although that was not the real reason.

"Well, we did a bit, but it was more of a social dinner." Charlotte explained. "Mary was OK with me changing dinner plans wasn't she?"

"Of course. It's not like you have to eat with the family every night."

"Yeah I know, I just don't like to mess her about." Charlotte replied.

"You didn't." Sidney reassured her.

"OK... You... you couldn't help me with the zip could you? I think it's stuck." She asked.

Sidney turned round having finished getting into his wetsuit. Charlotte was stood with her back to him, her hands holding her hair up out of the way. She had managed to do the wetsuit up halfway up her back, but the zip had got caught in the strap of her bikini. The open part of the wetsuit revealed the top part of her bare back. Just the fact he could see a part of her naked body he hadn't seen before sparked something in him which made him feel really nervous and something else... stirred. Tentatively Sidney edged closer to Charlotte and slowly reached up to the zip to try and unhook it. Inevitably, his fingers, which were trembling slightly, grazed her skin as he did so which made Charlotte gasp and shiver slightly. Charlotte's reaction to his touch was thrilling. Sidney's body longed for more contact and whether it was by accident or on purpose, he didn't know, his fingers kept finding bare skin. After a bit more tugging, the zip came free and Sidney gently pulled the zip up to the top of the wetsuit, his eyes watching as slowly the wetsuit encased her exposed skin.